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7 Wash. 377

Ackerson v. Orchard

Washington Supreme Court

Decided December 13, 1893

Washington Supreme Court · decided 1893-12-13

<p>ADMINISTRATOR’S SALE OW REAL ESTATE — IRREGULARITIES — VALIDATION.</p> <p>The failure of an administrator to include certain lands in his inventory of the estate will not deprive him of authority to administer thereon, when a supplemental statement has been filed by him describing said lands and showing their value, although such statement is not filed as an additional inventory.</p> <p>Although a petition of an administrator for an order for the sale of real estate is defective and irregular, for the reason that it fails to describe all the decedent’s real estate, and fails to state the amount of personal estate coming into the administrator’s hands, and his disposition thereof, and does not set forth the value of the lands other than by a reference to their appraised value, such irregularities will not affect the jurisdiction of the court to order the sale.</p> <p>Lands of a decedent may be sold to pay expenses of administration and an allowance for the support of the family, although the petition for sale may state that the decedent left no debts.</p> <p>Under Laws 1889-90, p.82, §2, validating sales of real estate by administrators, such sales will not be disturbed, although irregularly made, where the court had jurisdiction to order the sale, and the lands were sold at public auction after due notice by the administrator of time and place, the sale confirmed by the court, and the lands are now held by purchasers in good faith.</p>

Cited by 6 later decisions — most recently December 1909

6 state decisions

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1893-12-13

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¶1ON PETITION FOR RE-I IE A RING.

Scott, J.

¶2An opinion was filed in this cause on December 13th last, affirming the judgment of the lower court. A petition for re-hearing having been filed, we deem it advisable to say something further in answer to the able argument therein presented.

¶3It is contended that the order of sale made by the probate court was void, and that the court had no jurisdiction in the premises in consequence of the failure to give the notice required by law of the hearing upon the petition to sell the real estate in question; and as such order was void, that the whole proceedings relating to the sale were void for want of jurisdiction, and could not be validated by the curative act passed March 28, 1890 (§3066, Gen. Stat.).

¶4It becomes important, therefore, to inquire when and how the probate court acquired jurisdiction of the estate. Sec. 1444 of the 1881 Code provided that the administrator, upon his qualification, should have a right to the immediate possession of the estate of the deceased, both real and personal, and we are of the opinion that, upon the appointment and qualification of the administrator, the probate court acquired jurisdiction of the estate for the purposes of administration. It follows that the court did have jurisdiction of the estate, and its action could not be void for want of jurisdiction.

¶5It is true the law then provided, in relation to sales of *382real estate, that a petition should first be presented to obtain an order therefor, and a citation issued thereon notifying parties interested to appear at the time set for the hearing. But could not the legislature have dispensed with this petition i It seems to us, unquestionably, the legislature had such power, as the court acquired jurisdiction of the estate by the appointment and qualification of the administrator; and the administration of an estate being a proceeding in rem, the legislature could have provided for a sale of the lands without any petition or notice whatever. If this" is true, the legislature could thereafter pass the statute in question validating sales where no petition had been filed, when the particular things therein specified appear.

¶6It is, therefore, immaterial, whether this petition in question and the citation to appear at the hearing thereon were void in consequence of the failure to give the prescribed notice, or for any reason. The respondents’ title can safely rest on the subsequent proceedings, and the curative act aforesaid, under the conceded facts in the case; therefore, the petition for a re-hearing is denied.

¶7Dunbar, C. J., and Hoyt, Stiles and Anders, JJ., concur.

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